MOSTELLARIA – A ROMAN PLAY ABOUT GHOSTS AND PARTIES

Written by Plautus
A young man called Philolaches is having a great time while his father is overseas on business. Philolaches has also borrowed a lot of money to buy the freedom of the slave-girl he loves.
One day he is having a house party with many friends, when his slave Tranio interrupts the merry-making to announce that Philolaches’ father has returned unexpectedly and will arrive from the harbour at any minute.
Amid the general panic, Tranio has an idea.
He hustles Philolaches and his friends into the house and locks the door.
The father now arrives.
Tranio greets him respectfully but pretends that it is dangerous to enter the house because it is haunted.
Unfortunately, at this moment a money-lender turns up to claim the money that Philolaches borrowed.
Tranio thinks quickly and pretends that the money was borrowed to buy the house next door.
Even when Philolaches’ father meets the real owner of the house, Tranio manages to hide the truth for some time, but he is found out at last and jumps onto the top of an altar to escape punishment.
All ends happily, however, when one of Philolaches’ friends offers to repay the debt, thus allowing the father to forgive his son. Even Tranio is forgiven.
Inspired Stephen Sondheim, Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart musical “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”.

Must be a rule in the ghost handbook—if in danger of evaporating, make sure you’re in the middle of a dire pronouncement.

― Kelley Armstrong

You get what anybody gets – you get a lifetime.

― Neil Gaiman